Disability community marches in protest against Government changes
By: Helen Harvey
Stuff: 5 am, Saturday 7 September 2024
Elisabeth Mullen, 11, told marchers she was more than just someone who couldn’t walk.
VANESSA LAURIE / STUFF
Chants of “nothing about us without us” and “disability rights are human rights” rang out through New Plymouth’s CBD on Friday as more than 200 people from the disability community marched along Devon St.
The march ended outside the Gill St office of New Plymouth National MP David MacLeod, who wasn’t there as he had a bereavement.
Once there several people with disabilities shared their stories as did those who cared for them.
Elizabeth Mullen, 11, told the crowd she had cerebral palsy, which meant she couldn’t walk.
The disability community came together on Friday to march through New Plymouth’s CBD to bring awareness to the issues they’re facing as a result of recent government policy changes.
VANESSA LAURIE / STUFF
“But that doesn’t mean I can’t do a bazillion other things. Let me live my life. I am more than just not being able to walk.”
Quinn Jones, 8, spoke about his brother Nash, 7, who has Lesch Nyhan Syndrome, which causes intellectual disability, and other issues, including severe arthritis, and poor muscle control.
Quinn told people how hard it was for Nash.
The group were protesting Government changes to funding and support that were made without consultation or warning.
Harry Harris, who is visually impaired, said they wanted basic human rights that everyone else took for granted.
VANESSA LAURIE / STUFF
In August, a restructure of Whaikaha- Ministry For Disabled People was announced. Whaikaha will lose responsibility for delivering support services, and the move to the Enabling Good Lives approach will be put on hold.
This follows on from changes to individualised funding that were made without notice in March. Pedicures, massages and some funding for respite were among the cuts.
Harry Harris, who is visually impaired, said a pedicure is not a luxury.
“It’s a basic necessity of life. We want basic human rights that normal everyday people take for granted. Many of us can’t reach our toenails.”
Some people needed a pedicure before their toe nails got infected and they ended up with gangrene, Harris said.
March co-organiser Francine Jones, and Quinn, 8, look after Quinn’s brother Nash, 7, who Lesch Nyhan Syndrome.
VANESSA LAURIE / STUFF
March co -organiser Francine Jones said she needed a monthly massage because her son, Nash, weighed 22kgs.
“He's a dead weight, and I'm lifting him all the time. And my body is freaking sore, you know? He can't do anything for himself, ever.”
And spending some funding on getting a hotel room occasionally, if they can get care for Nash for the night, was important not only for her relationship with her husband, Nathan, but for their other children, Jones said.
“Making the time so that we can actually spend one on one good time with them as well, because their lives are frigging hard.”
She was devastated when she heard about the changes, she said.
“It's causing a huge amount of anxiety.”
Co-organiser Victoria Coleman said the Government was making decisions that massively affected their lives without talking to them.
VANESSA LAURIE / STUFF
The march was organised because she had been talking to many people who were affected by it and were very stressed.
Co-organiser Victoria Coleman, whose son Levi, 5, has Down syndrome, autism and two rare bowel disorders, said they want back what had been taken away.
“They've taken away our rights that were fought so hard for. I mean, this is a fight going back decades. People put themselves on the line, put their bodies on the line. It looked like the world was changing. And now we've been shot back to the dark ages.”
The Government was making decisions that “massively impact people's lives”, taking away their freedom, taking away their choices and their independence, Coleman said.
“And they've done that without speaking to us personally. For me, it's too late for consultation. They need to reverse the changes they've made and then talk to us.”
- Taranaki Daily News
Last Updated 08/09/2024
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